There is no worse version of a single story than the single story we hear when it comes to Autism Awareness. Quite honestly, almost anything in the mainstream media and the majority of public knowledge is based on a single story of autism. An intensely damaging one, that can put children in harm’s way.

Most Americans have likely heard of the anti-vaccination movement that has become a new craze, based off of a false study from a now discredited physician named Andrew Wakefield. This study claimed that vaccinations directly caused autism, prompting parents to avoid life-saving vaccines that would protect their child, simply because of this intense fear of their child being on the Autism Spectrum.

It is here that I feel what Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie stated during her TED Talk about the dangers of a single story rings especially true. She said “What this demonstrates, I think, is how impressionable and vulnerable we are in the face of a story.” Now, how does this even apply?

Consider what we think about when we think of autism. Perhaps the organization Autism Speaks comes to mind? Autism Speaks practically dominates the conversation on autism and autism awareness, but what many outside of the autistic community don’t realize, is how harmful the single story that Autism Speaks gives to the public is.

Autism Speaks originally used most of it’s budget to find a supposed “cure” for autism, which they soon found to be impossible, so now they focus on research meant to find genetic markers that can be used to test for autism in fetuses so that fetuses with autism can be selectively aborted. They focus their resources around non-autistic people who happen to have autistic people in their lives in some capacity. Autism Speaks is meant only for the non-autistic, based on the resources they provide and they way they present these resources. This organization is responsible for some horrific ad campaigns that have contributed to many of the myths and stereotypes that autistic people suffer from today, including the infamous “I Am Autism” video and the “Autism Every Day.” You can watch both videos below.

Autism Speaks also does not include autistic people on their decision-making board outside of a couple of token diversity positions that hold no power. They also support harmful therapies that attempt to “correct” a child’s autism by forcing them to behave more “normally.” A common slogan among the autistic community is “Autism Speaks does not speak for me!”

Considering how this organization has dominated the narrative of Autism Awareness and the common perception of autism, it is no wonder we have movement like the anti-vaccination movement. With the color blue and the puzzle piece symbol being associated with autism due to the influence of Autism Speaks, it really shows how strong this single story of theirs is. Autistic voices are drowned out in favor of the non-autistic majority’s perspective on autism. The only way we can combat this is by exposing the public to the many, many stories of those who are actually autistic, so that our society will no longer be confined by this single story.

After all, this single story is putting real children in danger. Children who are forced to suppress autistic behaviors and masquerade as “normal” children suffer very real trauma that follows them well into adulthood. Stereotypes and myths are often what prevent autistic people from living their lives to the fullest, not their autism itself. Children die from preventable diseases when their parents choose not to vaccinate, because they are so afraid of what they believe autism to be.

I am an autistic woman, and I am sick and tired of this single story defining not only me, but many others like me. That single story is not the story of any autistic person. We need to change the narrative and let the many voices of the real stories be heard.

Works Cited

Hansen, Quincy. “Speaking of Autism…” Speaking of Autism…(blog). WordPress, April 2, 2019. https://speakingofautismcom.wordpress.com.

TEDTalks: Chimamanda Adichie–The Danger of a Single Story. YouTube. TED, 2009. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=112&v=D9Ihs241zeg&feature=emb_logo.